The daughter of a blacksmith, this young woman was known by several names during her life: Amy Lyons or Lyon, Emma Hart, and Lady Hamilton. In her late teens, she became the mistress of the Honorable Charles Greville, who commissioned this painting from Romney, in 1782. At the time, the artist was seeking a new muse, and he was captivated by Emma’s beauty. This would be the first of some twenty paintings he would paint of her. They were not always portraits in the strict sense: she served as the model for a series of characters and themes, created by Romney with the goal of commercial success.

Pictured here about age seventeen, Emma was sent away to Naples, Italy, by her lover, who was then seeking a wealthy wife for himself. He encouraged her to become the mistress of his uncle, the much older widower Sir William Hamilton, British ambassador to Naples, whom she married, in 1791, to become Lady Hamilton. In Naples, she became a fixture of elite social circles and was celebrated for her classically inspired “attitudes,” theatrical performances of various expressions and personas. She also met the prominent British military figure Lord Horatio Nelson, with whom she had a child. Sadly, Lady Hamilton died destitute in Calais, in 1815.

Here, her expression of innocence is enhanced by the sweet dog cradled at her side. In contrast to the contemporary portraits of wealthy, socially elite women—with their powdered wigs and extremely white, make-up-covered faces—Romney portrays Emma like an allegorical figure, with loose, dark hair, unbounded by the social strictures of her day. A print reproducing the painting, published two years later, bore the title “Nature,” by which this painting has since been known.